Menma Masuku
by NerdyHeart
Summary: Shikamaru Nara's best friend, Naruto Uzumaki died when they were four. Blaming himself, Shikamaru sets out to become strong enough to protect those he cares about. Now, 8 years later, Shikamaru has graduated the academy and been assigned Kakashi Hatake as a sensei, with Sasuke Uchiha and a new boy named Menma as a teammates.


Shikamaru sits down at his desk next to his best friend Choji and watches the other newly minted genin. Groups of friends are hoping they'll be teamed together and making promises to each other that nothing will change between them if they aren't. Others are praying that they would be teamed with their crushes so they will have a chance to steal their hearts. It amazed him that they all thought that just because they graduated from the academy, that means they will stay genin.

If every academy student actually made a genin team, there would never be enough Jōnin-senseis to cover the influx of students every year. It is only logical to assume that there was a secondary test that have to pass, one that most likely shows they have the skills to work with their comrades to accomplish the missions they are assigned. He doesn't blame them too much for letting their excitement overcome their rational thought, though. He'd probably be in their shoes too if this had been eight years ago.

"Who do you think we'll be teamed with, Shikamaru?" Choji asks while munching on his chips. His friend always seems to know when his thoughts start to turn back to that night and he always tried to bring him back to the present.

"Good question." Shikamaru leans forward and rests his chin on one of his palms. "Normally, I'd think they'd put you, me and Ino on a team to try and resurrect the Ino/Shika/Cho formations. As Ino hates me, I don't think that would be a good decision. We would be unable to work as a team and we would fail the next test."

They'd been good friends until eight years ago, but she blames him for what happened that day; he blames himself for what happened that day. It's why he vowed that he would never be that useless again; the next time someone he loves is threatened, he will save them or die trying. It's why he works harder than any Nara in the history of the village has ever worked to get stronger. It was how he was able to tie with Sasuke Uchiha for rookie of the year.

"I hope we are still on a team together, and maybe Hinata could be our third? The pattern is that each team is made with two boys and a girl." Choji finishes the last chip in the bag, only to fish another one out of a pocket.

"Maybe. . ." Shikamaru watches Ino and Sakura walk into the classroom; the pinkette going on about how magical it will be if she is paired with her crush, Sasuke. Ino, on the other hand, is quiet. Her hand fiddles with her necklace and Shikamaru knows they are thinking of the same person and how she was supposed to be here with them today. "We don't have a 2:1 ratio of boys and girls though. We don't even have enough students for groups of three."

Choji hums to himself as he breaks open his chip bag and starts to munch. It is curious how they are going to manage to balance the teams this year. Are they going to have two students wait until next year to be placed on a team or is there a person from last year's group that had to be left out that is going to join them.

Iruka-sensei taps some papers on the desk to gather their attention and everyone quickly quiets down. "As of today, you are all ninjas. To get here, you faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin- first level ninjas. All the genin will be grouped into three-man squads. Each squad will be lead by a jōnin- an elite ninja."

"But sensei." Sakura raises her hand. "There are only twenty-six of us."

Iruka's eyes roam the room. "A twenty-seventh is being pulled from an apprenticeship situation so we can keep the teams even. It doesn't look like he's here yet, though. . ."

It's at that moment that the door to the classroom burst open followed by a crash. Shikamaru watches as a kid their age stands up from their heap on the floor and rubs the back of their neck. For a second, his heart catches at the familiar gesture, but the spiky hair is black instead of blonde and the eyes are amethyst instead of blue opals. He glares down at the desk in front of him. Even after eight years he still sees her in every little moment of his day.

"Sorry, I'm late." The voice is muffled by the face mask that covers the lower half of their face. "My name is Menma." They say it while pointing at themselves with their thumb as the rest of the class laughs.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Kiba shouts standing up and leaning over his desk.

"I'm a boy." Menma deadpans while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you sure?" Kiba questions again and Shikamaru is positive that a vein is going to burst in the boy's head.

"Of course I'm sure, you bastard!" Menma is shaking his fist at the Izunka and looks ready to pounce. Iruka, having seen the tensing muscles too, reaches out and grasps Menma by his dark grey jacket and holds him in the air.

"That's enough." Iruka walks forward while dragging Menma behind him. "Sit by Sasuke Uchiha. I still need to announce the squads before your senseis can come and collect you."

For some reason, Shikamaru still can't seem to take his eyes away from Menma. There is something about him and he wanted to figure it out. Usually, only those with special circumstances get an apprenticeship before they even become genin, as the apprenticeships usually came after you become a chunin to help specialize your skills.

Menma's body posture also hadn't relaxed since he sat down. His limbs are stiff and his eyes are locked with an unusual focus on Iruka as he calls out the teams. It was like he was forcing himself not to do something, and Shikamaru wanted to know what that thing was.

"Team Seven: Menma, Shikamaru Nara and Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka calls and Shikamaru watches as disappointment and relief swirl on his face. It is strange because Menma didn't know any of them due to not being in the academy with them, so why would he have any feelings about who his teammates are? He didn't know enough about them to judge.

Iruka finishes assigning the teams and dismisses them for lunch. Shikamaru watches as Menma starts to talk enthusiastically with his hands to Sasuke. As expected, the Uchiha ignores him. Ever since his brother killed his father, along with several other clan members, and Shisui Uchiha took over as clan head, Sasuke had become a depressed bundle of introspection.

Not that the Nara could blame him. A lot of changes had come to the Uchiha clan in the last 5 years and most people thought it was to their detriment. On paper, it appeared like the 3rd took away their lands and their power to punish them. That might even be what some of the Uchiha thought themselves.

What they didn't know, was dismantling Uchiha Police Force opened the doors for the clan to enter into politics again. Not only that, but they had moved their clan compound to the old Senju area. This lets them be closer to the center of the village and allowed the civilians to see them as more than just the hate-filled shinobi that the Second had made them out to be. For some reason, the Third had decided to rectify the mistakes of his predecessor during his second term as Hokage.

A crash brings him back to the present and Shikamaru watches as Menma drags Sasuke Uchiha by the collar of his shirt towards him.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Menma calls to him, his eyes squinted in a smile, and the Nara heir can't help but wonder how the new guy knows who he is. "Since we're in the same group, I was thinking we could have lunch together and get to know each other."

"I told you, idiot," Sasuke grumbles as he gets to his feet. "I don't want to have lunch with you. I don't care that we are teammates."

Shikamaru looks into amethyst eyes and his heart clenches at the familiar optimism and happiness in them. He never thought he'd find another person that could exude that kind of aura. "It's a good idea. After all, we are going to have to work together to pass the second test."

Menma shoots his hands in the air with enthusiasm and Sasuke glares with suspicion at the Nara. "What's the second test?"

The Nara signs. "How troublesome. We just passed the test that says we have the individual ability to be a genin. Now we have to prove that we are capable of putting those abilities and lessons together to work as a team to accomplish a mission." He lays his head against his palm and closes his eyes. "If we fail they will send us back to the academy."

"I'm thinking ramen!" Menma shouts, ignoring the shocked look on Sasuke's face. "Let's go!"

Menma proceeds to grab both of his teammates and drags them out of the classroom and out into the streets of the village. Sasuke tries to fight somewhat, but Shikamaru knows that it's pointless. Their teammate is knuckleheaded and determined. If he wants them to get ramen, the will be getting ramen and it is too troublesome to fight him.

He looks up at the clouds and thinks of his new teammates. After spending the last six years in the academy with Sasuke, they each have a pretty good idea of each other's abilities and how they complement each other. Menma is an unknown player. He knows absolutely nothing about him or how they would work together. Why did he have to get the teammate that no one knows?

His mind is drawn to a what-if. What would have happened if there had been 27 students in their class? Would _she _have been in their class with them? Would _she _have been the third member of their 3 man squad instead of Menma? Would he even be aware of the feelings he'd developed for his best friend? Would she love him too?

Menma sits both of them on stools at the counter of Ichiraku Ramen while taking his seat between them. "Two bowls of miso ramen, please!"

Shikamaru takes his time to look over the menu while Sasuke grumbles to himself. Ever since that day he refused to eat ramen because it was _her _favorite meal. Maybe it is time to start letting her go. After all, he can only say in love with a dead person for so long.

"One salt ramen, please." Sasuke places his own order after his and Menma gives them the biggest eye smile.

"I think we are going to be an amazing team, but we need to know more about each other!" Menma starts to prattle. "I know that the Uchiha are great at taijutsu and fire nature transformation. The Nara, on the other hand, are extremely intelligent and are masters of Yin release. What else can you tell me?"

Sasuke huffs. "You forgot to tell us about yourself, dobe. What's your clan name?"

"Well," Menma scratches the back of his neck, and Shikamaru got the feeling that if they could see the boy's cheeks they'd be blushing. "I don't have a clan. My name's just Menma, but I have loads of chakra, unparalleled stamina, and have mastered the shadow clone jutsu."

"That will be useful," Shikamaru adds, not surprised that whoever Menma's sensei had been had taught him the shadow clone jutsu if he has as much chakra as he claims, and pulls the bowl that was just set down in front of him closer. The smell of the broth brings back memories that he would rather forget, "Can you use the transformation jutsu?"

"Yep!" Menma pulls his own bowl closer and pulls his chopsticks apart, ready to dig in. "I have my own variant and I can even keep the transformation up after getting hit a couple of times."

"Do you know what our second test is going to be?" Sasuke asks while keeping his eyes on his food.

"I think it'll depend on the Jōnin-sensei." Shikamaru pushes his food around with his chopsticks. Maybe he won't be able to eat this after all. He keeps seeing blonde hair and opal eyes smiling at him; telling him that ramen is the food of the gods and if they are going to be friends he has to love it too.

Menma places his second bowl down after finishing drinking the broth. "Whatever it is, we will pass as long as we work together. We just can't let them break us apart. We are stronger together."

Shikamaru carefully watches Sasuke's face and the micro-expressions he tries to hide lets the Nara know that teamwork might be hard with the Uchiha. He is too much of a lone wolf and they will have to try to break him of that habit.

.

Back at the academy, Sasuke and Shikamaru sit in chairs while Menma watches out the doorway to look for their sensei. Every other genin team had been taken by their senseis hours ago while they sat there waiting.

Suddenly, quick as a bolt, Menma runs to the chalkboard and grabs an eraser only to jam it between the door and the frame, making it so the next person to open the door will get a hair full of chalk dust.

"What are you doing, Menma?" Shikamaru asks the unpredictable ninja. In the few short hours he's known him, he already knows that the purple-eyed ninja doesn't follow the normal behavioral patterns of ninja.

"It's payback for being late." Menma looks back at the two of them with his hands on his hips.

"Our teacher's a Jōnin- an elite ninja. You think he'd fall for that?" Sasuke asks while scowling at the floor.

"Nope." Menma beams at them with his eyes. "I'm curious about what he will do though. Aren't you?"

Shikamaru and Sasuke don't get a chance to answer before they see a hand reach through the crack in the door and pull it open. Both of their eyes open in shock as the eraser falls on the Jōnin's head. Menma starts laughing while Shikamaru tries to work out why the Jōnin would let that happen.

"I got you." Menma points at the silver-haired man with an identical mask to his own.

The Jōnin reaches down and picks up the eraser before standing up and stroking his chin. "How can I put this. . . My first impression of this group- you're a bunch of idiots." Shikamaru and Sasuke face fault, but Menma just eyes just grow with excitement. "Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes."

"It's a test." Menma turns to his teammates in excitement.

"I bet he was late because he booby-trapped the hall." Sasuke volunteers and Shikamaru weigh their options.

"Let's take the window. We can jump to the roof of the tower next door before jumping to the roof of this building."

Both dark-haired ninja agreed and followed Shikamaru up to the roof where they find their sensei eye smiling at them. Shikamaru gets the distinct impression that from now on, everything is going to be a test, even when their Jōnin wasn't there he would be testing them and watching to see what they would do.

"All right. Why don't you introduce yourselves one at a time?" The silver-haired ninja leans back against the rail and watches his students while speaking in a monotone. "I want to know things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future and hobbies. Things like that."

"How about you tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk, tell us about you." Menma prompts and Shikamaru can tell that the other genin is trying to get something out of their sensei.

The Jōnin stares the amethyst eyed genin down before relenting. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate- I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future- never really thought about it. As for my hobbies- I have lots of hobbies."

Shikamaru stares his sensei down. Despite not telling them much, they actually found out a lot. Their sensei didn't want friends, he is most likely clinically depressed, and was afraid of developing any attachments. He is like an older version of Sasuke.

"Okay, your turn." His eyes seem to bore into Menma and Shikamaru wonders if the boy gave him the same weird sense of deja vu that Shikamaru receives when looking at his teammate. "You on the right- you first."

Menma fiddles with the leaf hitai-ate attached to his right pant leg. "I'm Menma. I like miso ramen, training, and gardening. I hate irrational hatred. My future dream is to be Hokage."

Shikamaru's eyes glaze over as he thinks back to the last time someone told him their dream was to become Hokage. They'd been laying in the grass and the sun was kissing her blonde hair. Her eyes had been sparkling with mirth after hearing he just wanted to be an average Joe, with an average wife and two kids. What he didn't tell her was that he imagined his kids with her blonde hair and opal eyes.

Shaking his head, Shikamaru gives his own introduction while looking at the ground. "Name's Shikamaru Nara. I like sleeping and cloud watching. I hate watching my friends get hurt. My dream is to protect those that I love so I never have to lose anyone ever again."

He can feel purple eyes boring a hole into his skin. Maybe he let too much information out because Menma gave him a look like he knew exactly what he was talking about. That should be impossible though. Only a handful of people know what happened that day and there is no way that Menma had the clearance to find out.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Shikamaru is barely able to contain his eye roll at the brooding he can hear in his teammate's voice. He'd obviously had rehearsed this in his head. "I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to avenge my father and destroy a certain someone."

Shikamaru wants to snort at the look of disbelief on Menma's face. If there was an odd man out on their trio it would be the moody Uchiha. The Nara can already see the gears turning in Menma's head while he tries to think of a plan.

"You're each unique, and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

The three genins share a glance before Shikamaru glares at their sensei. "We already figured out there is going to be a second test. I don't see why we should have to wait until tomorrow to take it."

The one visible eyebrow raises and Shikamaru can tell it's in challenge rather than surprise that they already knew. "It's a survival exercise, and this kind of exercise is best undergone with an empty stomach so you don't puke."

"Hn." Sasuke levels his glare on their sensei and curls his lip in distaste. "I think we all know that it's best to eat before any intensive training so we'll have the energy to complete it."

"I think it's a good idea if we have the test now." Menma taunts. "Unless you're scared."

The muscles in their sensei's face are tight despite his eye smile. "Have it your way." Kakashi pulls a pair of bells from his pocket. "I'll be waiting for you in training ground seven. Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me, but you only have an hour to get them. The person that fails to get a bell will be sent back to the academy. Of course, all of you could end up going back to the academy. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells. That's all there is to it."

Kakashi shunshins away, leaving his genin to follow after him. The three boys look at each other and Shikamaru starts to think of their next hundred moves.

**A/N:** What do you guys think? After the disaster my personal life took in 2019, I wanted to start writing again and this is what came out.

Beta: TheBeautyInTheDarkness


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